If you consider yourself an "overclocker," then
you already know everything about the Prometeia brand of phase-change coolers, and we really don't have to say a single word more. For anyone
who isn't familiar with the name "Prometeia," it is special device that
chills an Intel or AMD processor down to an operating temperature of between -20°C
to -30°C, with the
end goal being better overclocking.

By comparison, the best heatsinks
on the market will keep an overclocked processor operating at 12°C to 20°C above the ambient
air temperature. A high-efficiency water cooling system handles the task slightly better, allowing for processor operating
temperatures as good as few degrees above ambient - but that is about as cool as
things get. Consider then, the difference in temperature between
these two methods and phase change cooling can be 80°C... or
even more.

As temperature plays a very significant role in the
long and complex overclocking equation, the quest for ever lower
temperatures has influenced the
adaptation of several industrial and laboratory cooling equipments into the world
of personal computing. The phase change cooling solutions which resulted
were exotic and expensive, considerably more powerful than a home
refrigerator, flexible to future processor advancements and socket changes,
and very quiet.

PCSTATS will be stepping away from the
normal bounds of motherboard and videocard reviews you know us for,
and over the following pages testing out an ECT Prometeia Mach II
GT phase change cooler - tooled for an AMD Athlon64 processor no
less.

The original supplier,
Chip-Con/nVENTIV, had its business and assets bought out byElcold Frysere
Hobro APS in 2004. Elcold was the
Danish refrigeration manufacturer actually building the
Prometeia units Chip-con/nVENTIV sold, so it was a natural progression for the company
to move from a pure manufacturing position to one of sales and marketing for this niche product.
The Prometeia is now sold under the name of Extreme Cooling
Technologies (ECT for short), which
is a daughter company of
Elcod Frysere Hobro APS.

If you're contemplating the
plunge into phase-change cooling, know this. Elcold has been in the
refrigeration business since 1961, giving the new startup ECT a stable foundation and credibility to work with. Considering the retail
cost of Prometeia Mach II GT hovers around the $1042CDN ($849USD) mark, this
is critical for potential buyers
peace of mind.

As
one of PCSTATS staffers is already the happy owner of a Prometeia Mach I, we'll be
interested in seeing just how ECT has (or has not) improved on the original
design. From the outset, the components are virtually identical, though the Mach II GT
addresses many usability and cosmetic issues users had with the older models. However, the
main development with the Mach II GT has been to replace the R134a refrigerant typically used
to charge the compressor, with R404a.

According
to Extreme Cooling Technologies, with R404a refrigerant the Prometeia Mach II GT
evaporator head can reach a temperature -65°C under no-load circumstances. With an atypical
200W heat load, the cold head on the Mach II GT can sustain a -30°C
evaporator temperature. Minus 30 degrees Celsius seems like such a nice temperature to run an overclocked Athlon64 4000+ processor
at, don't you think? ;-)